Bi-polar phase detector

ABSTRACT

A phase detector employs a pair of operational amplifiers for establishing equal amplitudes for a reference signal and the signal of which the phase is to be measured. The reference signal alternately blocks an unblocks a diode bridge to provide a linear bi-polar output signal proportional to the difference in phase between the two input signals.

United States Patent 1 Barrett 7 [451 Nov. 6, 1973 BI-POLAR PHASE DETECTOR [75 Inventor: Ronald E. Barrett, Colorado Springs,

[73] Assignee: Calnor of El Paso, Inc., El Paso, Tex.

[22] Filed: Mar. 13, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 234,181

[52] US. Cl 328/134, 307/232, 307/321, 323/75 F [51] Int. Cl. [1031) 3/04 [58] Field 01 Search 307/32], 232; 321/47; 323/75 F, 9; 328/134 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,248,793 7/1941 Terry 323/75 F 2,774,932 12/1956 Patton 321/47 2,914,684 11/1959 Essler 307/232 3,093,786 6/1963 Nelson et al. 323/75 F 3,214,680 10/1965 Kroll i 307/321 3,244,987 4/1966 Prapis et al. 307/232 3,517,215 6/1970 Richer 307/321 3,571,695 3/1971 Straiton 307/321 X 2,833,980 5/1958 Hedgcock et al. 328/134 3,422,362 1/1969 West 328/134 Primary Examiner-John S. Heyman Att0rneyAlbert H. Pendleton et al.

[57] ABSTRACT A phase detector employs a pair of operational amplifiers for establishing equal amplitudes for a reference signal and the signal of which the phase is to be measured. The reference signal alternately blocks an unblocks a diode bridge to provide a linear bi-polar output signal proportional to the difference in phase between the two input signals.

10 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures SHEET 10F 2 PMENTED NOV 6 I975 PATENIEUHuv Bl975 3771.063

SHEET 20F 2 FIG, 5

BACKGROUND The present invention relates to phase detectorsand particularly to a phase detector which. providestanunambiguous indication of the sign of the difference in phase between two input signals.

A number of phase detector circuits have.- been known and used in the past, and many functionaccurately to produce an output. signal in response to the difference in phase between two input signals... However, in all but the most complicated of suchldetect'ors, the output signal has either not been a. linear function of phase difference or has not been indicative. offthe sign of the phase difference and is accordingly not as useful for some applications as a detector which has such a capability.

It is therefore desirable to produce aphasedetector in which an unambiguous indication of the sign ot the phase difference is produced, with a linear functionof the phase difference.

Accordingly, it is a'principal object of thepresent'invention to provide such a phase detector andfto provide a simple and inexpensive construction therefor.

Another object of the present invention is-to provide:

such a phase detector having an automatic gaincontrol. I

for both of the signals applied to the inputof the-phase detector.

These and other objects of the present invention will become manifest upon an examinationlof the-following:

description and the accompanying drawings.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In one embodiment of the present invention there is provided a phase detector having a pair of operational. amplifiers connected to receive two input signals and a full wave diode bridge connected with'theoutput of both operational amplifiers and with the input of one of the operational amplifiers, to provide a linear bipolar signal having a value corresponding to the differencein phase between the twoinput signals. In another embodiment the phase detector has an automatic gain control feature to remove any effect of the two input' signals being of differing amplitudes.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION or THE DRAWINGS Reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings in which:

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring first to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a -bi polar. phase comparator comprised generally of a pair of operational amplifiers l0 and 12 and a full wave diode. bridge 14. One of the two input signals, and preferably .the reference signal, is connected to an input terminal. 16 which is connected via a resistor 18 to the inverting input of the amplifier 10. The noninvertinginputof'the amplifier 10 is connected via a resistor 20 to ground} and the output of the amplifier l0 isconnected to one terminal 14a of the bridge 14 through a resistor 24; The

input. terminal Ifiis connectedl to 'the opposite terminal i 14b of: the: bridge.- 14l-throughw a: resistor: 26..1lhe: bridge. 114. is constructedlofi two circuits. bflth'l ofjwhich: are" con nected: between: the. terminals 14-21 and? 12411 andi both: of

which comprise. a. pair ofi' serially connected. diodes,

1 2,. connected? from the: output. thereof? to its. inverting;

input, andl comprising; 211 series. connected? resistor' 3 4 and rheostat i 36.. The. output. offthe: amplifie r: is conn'ectedi through: a resistor 38 to the. terminal I4b of the bridge 1:4' and the. opposite terminal. 1-4dr'ofi'thei bridge: is connected. to ground. The; rheosta-ti 36 is adjustable so that the: amplitude of the outputiofithe. amplifier 1 .2. (with reference" toground potential)? is idfenti'cah tor thatv ofithersignall.pnoducedl by the amplifier l 01i(:w.ith reference to" the: potential of'input terminal 16').

The. en'dloftthe resisto ru38 which is. connected: to the bridge. is also connected@ to: arr output terminal? 40: at whichthereis prod'ucedfa voltage having a dc. com po nent corresponding to the: magnitude off the phase dif f'erence': between: thew signals: applied? to l the: input term'iinalls 16 and? 282.

Iiroperation of thecapparatus th'e signalproducedl by the. amplifier L0 alternately changes the condition of. the bridge 143. When the input app'liedlto the terminali l6 /is negativerwitlr respect to ground; alll four Ofitllfl" di;- odes formingttlie bridge: I4 are reverse biased,.and,. in' effect, the circuit? through thezhridge from the. point 1340' to ground isopened. Whem the. signzalat the term inal 1 6 is of'ithe opposite'polarity,the:four' diodes of the bridge; 1'4? conduct, andnthepoi'nt. M1 is effectively. connected to ground,. provided that the forward' voltage drops of the:diodes areumatchedz Reference to FIG. Zwill illustrat'e how the output produced at the output terminal 40*varies un'der. a: variety of conditions ofi phase difference betweenatheinput signals. In FIG. 2. the waveform. A: is representative of the reference signal applied to the terminal: 16: and B is representative of a signal appliedftothe terminal28 whichis inphase with-therefen ence. signal. The waveform C corresponds to that producedlatitheoutputterminalgwhichis seen to beat pulsatingadzc. waveformsimilar to that whichtwould be derived? by passing. either of: the input signals through. a halfwave rectifier. V

The waveform D is representative of a signal applied to the terminal 28: which is l oute of phase with the reference signal applied to' the. terminal 16 The waveform. Eillustratesthe signal applied' to the outpubterminal401under these. circumstances. It. isseento bealpul satingrdc waveform similar to thatiof'th'e waveform" G1,. but" having: ad .c. value of opposite sign;

The waveform F illustrates the signal appliedit'oc the.

] inputiterminal. 28 which islout of phaseby, either 909 or.

270 with respect to that applied to' the input terminal 136* and the waveform. illustrates the waveform. produced at the output terminal 40 under these circumstances. It" is seen that the waveform contains equal areas above and below the zero axis so that the net d.c.

level of the waveform is zero. Accordingly, the apparatus of FIG. 1 produces an output of the terminal 40 having a dc. potential of zero when the phase difference is either 90 or 270', and an output voltage of positive and negative potential when the phase difference between the two input signals is either closer to or closer to 180 from the condition producing the null.

Referring now to FIG. 3, an alternative embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in which an automatic gain control function is executed so that the rheostat 36 in the embodiment of FIG. 1 is not needed. The reference input terminal 16 is connected through a resistor 42 to the noninverting input of an operational amplifier 44. The inverting input of the amplifier 44 is connected through a resistor 46 to ground and a feedback resistor 48 is connected between the output of the amplifier 44 and its inverting input. The output -of the amplifier 44 is also connected through a resistor are adapted to operate in a saturated condition so that a square wave is produced at the output of the amplifier 44 having maximum and minimum values substantially equal to the positive and negative power supply voltages supplied to the amplifier 44, and in phase with the waveform applied to the terminal 16. The amplifier 52 functions to invert the signal produced by the amplifier 44. Therefore a square wave is applied to the bridge 58 through the resistors 56 and 60. The signal applied through the resistor 60 is in phase with the signal applied to the terminal 16, and has an amplitude which is completely independent of the amplitude of the input signal, provided the input signal is sufficient to saturate the amplifier 44. The signal applied through the resistor .56 is 180 out of phase with the input signal.

The other input signal applied to the input terminal 28, is connected to the noninverting input of an amplifier 62 through a resistor 64. The inverting input of the amplifier 62 is connected to ground through a resistor 66, and a feedback resistor 68 interconnects the output of the amplifier 62 with its inverting input. The output of the amplifier 62 is connected through a resistor 70 to a terminal 58c of the bridge 58, and the remaining bridge terminal 58d opposite thereto is grounded. The amplifier 62 is operated in its saturated condition and the voltage levels supplied to power it are the same as those supplied to the amplifiers 44 and 52. Accordingly, the amplifier 62 produces a square wave, in phase with the signal applied to the input terminal 28, and having a fixed amplitude independent of the magnitude of the input signal.

The operation of the circuit is substantially the same as the circuit of FIG. I which has been explained with reference to the waveforms of FIG. 2, except that it is not necessary to provide a rheostat for insuring regulating the amplitude of the input signal, for that is done automatically by means of the saturated amplifiers, and signals of a constant amplitude are applied to the bridge 58, irrespective of the amplitudes of the input signals.

A detector circuit is illustrated in FIG. 3 by which the dc. level of the signal produced at the output terminal a may be detected. The output terminal 70a is connected through a resistor 72 to the noninverting input of an amplifier 74 which input is also connected to ground through a capacitor 76. The inverting input of the amplifier 74 is connected to ground through a resistor 78 and to the output of the amplifier 74 through a feddback resistor 80. i

The circuit including the amplifier 74 functions as a low pass filter having a time constant equal to the product of the resistance of the resistor 72 and the capacitance of the capacitor 76. These values are chosen as desired to bypass the high frequency components of the output signal to ground and accumulate the dc. component of the output signal on the capacitor 76, which is then amplified by the amplifier 74 and made available at an output terminal 82 to a utilization device.

The apparatus of the present invention is remarkably linear. The output is linear within about 2 percent within the range extending between 30 and of phase difference and within 5 percent throughout the entire range from 0 to phase difference.

What is claimed is:

1. A phase detector comprising:

A. a reference terminal for connection to a source of reference a.c. signal;

B. an inverter coupled to said reference terminal for inverting said reference a.c. signal;

C. a blocking means including at least four terminals in which:

1. the first of said terminals is coupled to said reference terminal; and

2. the third of said terminals is coupled to the output of said amplifier said blocking means, in phase with a reference a.c.

signal, alternately providing an electrically conductive path between the second and fourth terminals of said blocking means and blocking said electrically conductive path between said second and fourth terminals;

D. a reference point coupled to said second terminal of said blocking means;

E. an input terminal for connection to a source of input a.c. signal;

F. amplifying means for establishing a fixed amplitude for said input a.c. signal, the input of said amplifying means being coupled to said input terminal and the output of said amplifying means being coupled to said fourth terminal of said blocking means; and

G. an output terminal coupled to the output of said amplifying means whereby an output signal appears between said reference point and said output terminal during a portion of each period of said a.c. signal, said output signal being related to the phasic relationship between said reference a.c. signal and said input a.c. signal.

2. The phase detector of claim 1 wherein said blocking means includes a diode bridge having 'A. first and second diodes coupled between said first and third terminals of said blocking means, the cathode of said first diode and the anode of said second diode being coupled together and to said second terminal; and

B. third and fourth diodes in which:

l. the cathode of said third diode is coupled to the cathode of said first diode; 2. the anode of the fourth diode is coupled to the anode of said second diode; and

3. the anode of said third diode and the cathode of 5 said fourth diode are coupled together and to said fourth terminal of said blocking means.

3. The phase detector of claim 2 wherein said reference point is ground.

4. The phase detector of claim 3 wherein both said inverter and said amplifying means are operational amplifiers.

5. The phase detector of claim 4 including:

A. a first resistance coupled between said reference terminal and diode bridge; and

B. a second resistance coupled between said inverter and said diode bridge.

6. The phase detector of claim 4 including a resistance coupled between the output of said amplifying means and said diode bridge.

7. The phase detector of claim 4 wherein said output terminal is connected directly to both the cathode of said third diode and the anode of said fourth diode.

8. The phase detector of claim 4 including adjusting means coupled to said amplifying means for selectively controlling the gain of said amplifying means.

9. The phase detector of claim 4 including biasing means for biasing said amplifying means to saturate in response to said input a.c. signal, whereby the output signal of said amplifying means is in phase with said input a.c. signal and has an amplitude independent of the amplitude of said input a.c. signal.

10. The phase detector of claim 9 including biasing means for biasing said inverter to saturate in response to said reference a.c. signal, whereby the output signal of said inverter and said amplifying means have equal amplitude. 

1. A phase detector comprising: A. a reference terminal for connection to a source of reference a.c. signal; B. an inverter coupled to said reference terminal for inverting said reference a.c. signal; C. a blocking means including at least four terminals in which:
 1. the first of said terminals is coupled to said reference terminal; and
 2. the third of said terminals is coupled to the output of said amplifier said blocking means, in phase with a reference a.c. signal, alternately providing an electrically conductive path between the second and fourth terminals of said blocking means and blocking said electrically conductive path between said second and fourth terminals; D. a reference point coupled to said second terminal of said blocking means; E. an input terminal for connection to a source of input a.c. signal; F. amplifying means for establishing a fixed amplitude for said input a.c. signal, the input of said amplifying means being coupled to said input terminal and the output of said amplifying means being coupled to said fourth terminal of said blocking means; and G. an output terminal coupled to the output of said amplifying means whereby an output signal appears between said reference point and said output terminal during a portion of each period of said a.c. signal, said output signal being related to the phasic relationship between said reference a.c. signal and said input a.c. signal.
 2. the third of said terminals is coupled to the output of said amplifier said blocking means, in phase with a reference a.c. signal, alternately providing an electrically conductive path between the second and fourth terminals of said blocking means and blocking said electrically conductive path between said second and fourth terminals; D. a reference point coupled to said second terminal of said blocking means; E. an input terminal for connection to a source of input a.c. signal; F. amplifying means for establishing a fixed amplitude for said input a.c. signal, the input of said amplifying means being coupled to said input terminal and the output of said amplifying means being coupled to said fourth terminal of said blocking means; and G. an output terminal coupled to the output of said amplifying means whereby an output signal appears between said reference point and said output terminal during a portion of each period of said a.c. signal, said output signal being related to the phasic relationship between said reference a.c. signal and said input a.c. signal.
 2. The phase detector of claim 1 wherein said blocking means includes a diode bridge having A. first and second diodes coupled between said first and third terminals of said blocking means, the cathode of said first diode and the anode of said second diode being coupled together and to said second terminal; and B. third and fourth diodes in which:
 2. the anode of the fourth diode is coupled to the anode of said second diode; and
 3. the anode of said third diode and the cathode of said fourth diode are coupled together and to said fourth terminal of said blocking means.
 3. The phase detector of claim 2 wherein said reference point is ground.
 4. The phase detector of claim 3 wherein both said inverter and said amplifying means are operational amplifiers.
 5. The phase detector of claim 4 including: A. a first resistance coupled between said reference terminal and diode bridge; and B. a second resistance coupled between said inverter and said diode bridge.
 6. The phase detector of claim 4 including a resistance coupled between the output of said amplifying means and said diode bridge.
 7. The phase detector of claim 4 wherein said output terminal is connected directly to both the cathode of said third diode and the anode of said fourth diode.
 8. The phase detector of claim 4 including adjusting means coupled to said amplifying means for selectively controlling the gain of said amplifying means.
 9. The phase detector of claim 4 including biasing means for biasing said amplifying means to saturate in response to said input a.c. signal, whereby the output signal of said amplifying means is in phase with said input a.c. signal and has an amplitude independent of the amplitude of said input a.c. signal.
 10. The phase detector of claim 9 including biasing means for biasing said inverter to saturate in response to said reference a.c. signal, whereby the output signal of said inverter and said amplifying means have equal amplitude. 